Q: First tell us something about yourself.
I am a mother of two boys ages 13 and 11. I am an Accounting Associate and an author. I was a Veterinary Technician and an Animal Control Officer back in the day, so I have a huge love for animals as well.
Q: How and when did your journey start as a writer?
My journey as a writer started later in life. I have always wanted to write, but could never find the time. Once my kids got older, I found myself yearning to write – especially for kids. I started writing science-fiction books for middle schoolers called Cloud Monsters, then moved on to writing for younger kids. I wrote The Lonely Chameleon in hopes to help kids that are struggling with self-esteem and encourage self-acceptance and self-love.
Q: When did you write your first story? Is it published or not?
Cloud Monsters was my debut book! It was published in 2021, then the sequel, Cloud Monsters: Return of the Vultans came out a year later. The Lonely Chameleon was published in May of last year. I have another book in the works that deals with self-acceptance issues as well. I will continue to write for kids and my goal is to help all kids love themselves for who they are!
Q: Tell us something more about your books?
Cloud Monsters is about clouds that morph into monsters and invade the earth. We don’t know whether these monsters are good or evil until the end with a HUGE twist that you wouldn’t expect. The sequel, Cloud Monsters: Return of the Vultans is mainly about revenge with a lot of new interesting and evil characters.
The Lonely Chameleon is about a Chameleon named Charlie, who can’t change color. He always gets teased and feels left out. Eventually, he decides to pack his bags and journey to the other end of the forest, where hopefully, he will find other “misfit” animals or where he can live his life alone.
He winds up meeting interesting animals along the way who all want to be his friend, but Charlie pushes them away, in fear that he will be rejected again.
Charlie eventually accepts himself for who he is and learns a valuable lesson about self-acceptance and self-love.
Q: How did these stories and characters come to your mind?
I have always loved science-fiction. When I was growing up my favorite book was The Time Machine and War of the Worlds by H.G. Wells. Stephen King was my absolute favorite author. That’s why Cloud Monsters was born, due to my love for all things science-fiction.
In The Lonely Chameleon, Charlie cannot change color, so he can’t accept himself for who he is.
The Lonely Chameleon was taken from my own experiences as a child. I was teased A LOT growing up. I was extremely quiet and very small for my age, so I was an easy target for bullies. I could not accept my differences or who I was. It wasn’t until I reached high school where I finally decided to love myself. I realized I couldn’t change who I was – I wasn’t going to get any taller or louder, so I decided to accept the fact that I can’t change who I am. Once I did, my life changed forever. I accepted who I was and other people saw my confidence and accepted who I was too.
I don’t want other kids to experience what I went through as a child. In retrospect, I wish I would’ve done something about it sooner. That’s why I decided to write The Lonely Chameleon, so kids will realize that they can’t change who they are on the outside, but can change themselves on the inside.
I want all kids to know that they special and unique and to embrace their differences.
Q: Do you want to leave any message for your readers?
Always love yourself for who you are. Embrace your differences and never let anyone put you down. Be confident in yourself and love yourself for the person you are.
